This invention relates to an electrical connector for use in electric and electronic appliances such as industrial machines, car navigation systems, and the like, and more particularly to an electrical connector superior in resistance to vibration and enabling floating of a part in the connector even when a space-saving is achieved (width dimension in a fitted state being less than 5 mm).
In hitherto used electrical connectors having a floating part, two insulators have often been used, either of which is supported only by contacts having an elastic portion which is elastically deformable. It has been found that in order to provide an elasticity to contacts, elastic portions of the contacts are snaked or curved, or the contacts are elongated by increasing a distance between two insulators.
As examples of prior art electrical connectors, incorporated herein are Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2002-42,937 (Patent Literature 1), Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2002-352,908 (Patent Literature 2) and Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-45,525 (Patent Literature 3), these being proposed by the applicant of the present case.
Patent Literature 1
According to the abstract of the Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2002-42,937, this invention has an object to provide an electrical connector 1 enabling any defective connection to be prevented by avoiding contacts 14 and 24 from being loaded when substrates 60 are being fixed to a casing in the fitted state of a pin connector 10 and a socket connector 20. Disclosed is an electrical connector 1 consisting of a pin connector 10 and a socket connector 20 detachably fitted with each other, wherein a locator 40 having a groove 42 of a size for receiving the socket connector 20 is provided with engaging means adapted to engage the socket connector 20, and the socket connector 20 is mounted on the locator 40 and floatingly fixed to the substrate 60. Moreover, the socket connector 20 has a floating function by setting the length of socket contacts 24 within the locator 40 to 5 mm to 10 mm.
In connection with the above description, claim 1 of the Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2002-42,937 recites an electrical connector consisting of a pin connector and a socket connector detachably fitted with each other, said pin connector comprising a required number of pin contacts and a block for holding and fixing said pin contacts, and said socket connector comprising a required number of socket contacts to contact said pin contacts and a housing for holding and fixing said socket contacts, wherein a locator having a groove of a size for receiving said socket connector is provided with engaging means adapted to engage said socket connector, and said socket connector is mounted on the locator and is floatingly fixed to a substrate. Claim 2 recites the electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the length of socket contacts within said locator is 5 to 10 mm to provide the floating function to the socket connector. Claim 3 recites the electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein said locator is formed with grooves continuously provided so that the socket contacts of said socket connector are displaceable in said continuously provided grooves, thereby providing the floating function to the socket connector. Claim 4 recites the electrical connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein said socket contacts are bent or twisted substantially at right angles in the continuously provided grooves of said locator. Claim 5 recites the electrical connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein said socket contacts are curved in the continuously provided grooves of said locator.
Patent Literature 2
According to the abstract of Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2002-352,908, the invention has an object to provide a connector 10, 40 which is of a floating construction and able to position connection portions of contacts with a simple construction without increasing the number of parts. Disclosed is a connector including contacts 14, 44 each having a contact portion 32 adapted to contact a mating contact, a fixed portion 34 to be fixed to a block 12, 42, and a connection portion 22 to be connected to a substrate, and the block 12, 42 for holding and fixing therein a required number of the contacts 14, 44, wherein the contacts 14, 44 each comprise an elastic portion 20, 50 between the fixed portion 34 and the connection portion 22, and a housing 16, 46 having a substantially box shape with a clearance relative to the outer dimension of the block 12, 42 is located on the side of the connection portions of the contacts 14, 44, thereby enabling the positioning of the connection portions 22 of the contacts relatively to the substrate and also enabling floating of the connector 10, 40. In order to facilitate the floating, preferably the elastic portion 20, 50 of each of the contacts 14, 44 has at least one snaked portion.
In connection with the above description, claim 1 of the Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2002-352,908 recites a connector to be mounted on a substrate, including contacts each having a contact portion adapted to contact a mating connector, a fixed portion to be fixed to a block, and a connection portion to be connected to the substrate, and the block for holding and fixing a required number of the contacts, wherein the contacts each comprise an elastic portion between the fixed portion and the connection portion, and a housing is provided which has a substantially box shape with a clearance relative to the outer dimension of the block and located on the side of the connection portions of the contacts, thereby enabling the positioning of the connection portions of the contacts relatively to the substrate and also enabling floating of the connector. Claim 2 recites the connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elastic portion of each of contacts includes at least one snaked portion. Claim 3 recites the connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein a cross-shaped positioning portion is provided between the elastic portion and the connection portion of each of the contacts. Claim 4 recites the connector as claimed in claim 3, wherein the housing is provided with a required number of inserting grooves in the surface on the substrate connection side for inserting the contacts, between which inserting grooves there are provided plate-shaped members which are each provided with a protrusion on one side and a guide face on the other side, while an inclined face A and an inclined face B are provided contiguous to each of the guide faces, and an inclined portion is provided which is substantially perpendicular to and contiguous to the inclined face A. Claim 5 recites the connector as claimed in claim 4, wherein each of the contacts is installed into the housing by steps of first inserting the contact with the tip of the cross-shaped positioning portion along the guide face, then causing the tip to move along the inclined portion and the inclined face A toward the protrusion, further causing the tip to move along the inclined face B toward the protrusion, and causing the cross-shaped positioning portion to fall onto the protrusion and installed portion.
Patent Literature 3
According to the abstract of Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2003-45,525, the invention has an object to provide a connector 10 which is of a floating construction and able to position connection portions 22 of contacts with a simple construction without increasing the number of parts. Disclosed is a connector 10 including contacts 14 each having a contact portion 32 adapted to contact a mating contact, a fixed portion 34 to be fixed to a block 12, and a connection portion 22 to be connected to a substrate, and the block 12 for holding and fixing therein a required number of the contacts 14, wherein the contacts 14 each comprise an elastic portion 20 having at least one snaked portion between the fixed portion 34 and the connection portion 22, and the block 12 is provided with a housing 16 having a substantially box shape with a clearance relative to the outer dimension of the block 12 and located on the side of the connection portions of the contacts 14, thereby enabling the positioning of the connection portions 22 of the contacts relatively to the substrate and also enabling floating of the connector 10. Moreover, the contacts 14 are each preferably provided between the elastic portion 20 and the connection portion 22 with a fitting portion 21 adapted to engage an inserting hole 36 of the housing 16.
In connection with the above description, claim 1 of the Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2003-45,525 recites a connector to be mounted on a substrate, including contacts each having a contact portion adapted to contact a mating contact, a fixed portion to be fixed to a block, and a connection portion to be connected to the substrate, and the block for holding and fixing a required number of the contacts, wherein the contacts each comprise an elastic portion having at least one snaked portion between the fixed portion and the connection portion, and the block is provided with a housing having a substantially box shape with a clearance relative to the outer dimension of the block and located on the side of the connection portions of the contacts, thereby enabling the positioning of the connection portions of the contacts relatively to the substrate and enabling floating of the connector. Claim 2 recites the connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing having arm portions is formed on both sides in width direction with slits adjacent to the arm portions to provide elasticity to the arm portions for facilitating mounting of locking portions of the block onto the arm portions. Claim 3 recites the connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the contacts are each provided between the elastic portion and the connection portion with a fitting portion adapted to engage an inserting hole of the housing.
In recent years, a wide variety of technical requirements for electrical connectors from customers have been increased. For example, there have been increasing demands for electrical connectors which achieve a reduced overall height, for example, a distance between substrates less than 5 mm with fitted plug and receptacle connectors, and space-saving when fitted (miniaturized width dimension) as much as possible, and which are superior in resistance to vibration, while enabling floating of a part resulting in higher connection stability.
However, in order to achieve the space-saving (miniaturized width dimension), thicknesses of walls must be thinner as much as possible, while for the purpose of improving the resistance to vibration, the thicknesses of the walls must be thicker as much as possible so that the contradictory problems remain to be solved. In order to realize the floating of the part, contacts need to be snaked or curved to have an elasticity and two insulators need to be combined so that the width dimension becomes necessarily greater which is contrary to the space-saving.
Moreover, in order to obtain a higher resistance to vibration, the thicknesses of the walls must be thicker, and for increasing the thicknesses the positional relation between contact portions and snaked or curved portions of contacts must be displaced in upper and lower directions. Such an arrangement is contradicting a reduced overall height.
Furthermore, there has been a need for contacts adapted to contact mating contacts at two locations in order to improve a contact stability when floating. However, the two-point contact would be contradicting the space-saving.
The constructions of the Patent Literatures 1 to 3 could not fulfill all these requirements described above.